philosophy bites

Fiery Cushman on Moral Luck

Why do many of use feel that there is something more culpable about a drunk driver who happens to kill someone accidentally on the way home than one who, though equally drunk, manages to get home without incident? Fiery Cushman, a psychologist, has done some fascinating research on the phenomenon of moral luck. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he sets out his explanation of why outcomes agents' control function as they do in relation to culpability and punishment. 

Listen to Fiery Cushman on Moral Luck

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

Links to a range of publications by Fiery Cushman

Onora O'Neill on Trust (originally on Bioethics Bites)

How much should we trust medical experts? Do we really need to give consent for every medical procedure? Onora O'Neill investigates questions about trust in relation to medicine in this episode of Philosophy Bites (originally released on Bioethics Bites which is made in association with the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and made possible by a grant from the Wellcome Trust).

Listen to Onora O'Neill on Trust

 

Peter Singer on Life and Death Decision-Making

How should doctors, patients and families make end of life decisions? In this episode, originally recorded as part of Bioethics Bites, Peter Singer addresses this question from a utilitarian perspective, stressing the importance individual autonomy. Bioethics Bites is made in association with the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and made possible by a grant from the Wellcome Trust.

Listen to Peter Singer on Life and Death Decision-Making

Previous interviews with Peter Singer:

Listen to Peter Singer on Henry Sidgwick's Ethics

Listen to Peter Singer on the Life You Can Save

Listen to Peter Singer on Using Animals (originally on Ethics Bites)

Another Philosophy Bites episode on ending lives:

Listen to Raymond Tallis on Assisted Dying

 

Jeff McMahan on Moral Status

Many questions in practical ethics turn on questions of moral status. In this bonus episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast (originally released on Bioethics Bites), Jeff McMahan explores the issues surrounding the moral status of foetuses, those in persistent vegetative states, and non-human animals. This episode of Philosophy Bites was made in association with the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and made possible by a grant from the Wellcome Trust.

Listen to Jeff McMahan on Moral Status

Listen to an earlier Philosophy Bites interview with Jeff McMahan on Vegetarianism

Listen to an earlier Philosophy Bites interview with Jeff McMahan on Killing in War

 

Julian Savulescu on Designer Babies

Should we select advantageous genes and deselect disadvantageous ones when having children? Julian Savulescu believes that we should. Find out why in this bonus episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast (originally released on Bioethics Bites and made in association with the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, Oxford, and made possible by a grant from the Wellcome Trust).

Listen to Julian Savulescu on Designer Babies

Previously on Philosophy Bites:

Julian Savulescu on the Yuk Factor

On Virtual Philosopher: 

Julian Savulescu on Moral Enhancement

Julian Savulescu and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong discuss Addiction

Julian Savulescu on Craig Venter's synthetic bacterium

 

Ronald Dworkin on the Unity of Value

Are values such as liberty and equality ultimately compatible? Ronald Dworkin believes they are. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he explains why he thinks that philosophers such as Isaiah Berlin were wrong to opt for pluralism. There is, he maintains, a right answer about how we should live.

Listen to Ronald Dworkin on the Unity of Value

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

Philip Schofield on Jeremy Bentham's Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham was one of the earliest Utilitarians as well as a dynamic law reformer. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Philip Schofield, head of the Bentham Project, discusses Bentham's contribution to moral theory.

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Listen to Philip Schofield on Jeremy Bentham's Utilitarianism

Melissa Lane on Plato and Sustainability

What can the ancients teach us about sustainability? According to Melissa Lane of Princeton University, author of Eco-Republic, quite a lot. She discusses the relevance of Plato to modern environmental problems in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Listen to Melissa Lane on Plato and Sustainability

Listen to an earlier Philosophy Bites interview with Melissa Lane on Rousseau and Modern Society

Listen to an earlier Philosophy Bites interview with Melissa Lane on Plato and Totalitarianism

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Sean Kelly on Homer on Philosophy

Is Homer, the great poet of antiquity, relevant to philosophy? If so how? Sean Dorrance Kelly (co-author with Hubert Dreyfus of All Things Shining) addresses these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast series. 

Listen to Sean Dorrance Kelly on Homer on Philosophy

Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy

 

Paul Boghossian on Moral Relativism

Is moral relativism a tenable position? Does it matter? Paul Boghossian argues that it isn't and that it does matter in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.

Listen to Paul Boghossian on Moral Relativism

Read an article 'The Maze of Moral Relativism' by Paul Boghossian from the New York Times. Read Stanely Fish's response. Read Paul Boghossian's response to Fish 'Does Philosophy Matter - It Would Appear So'.

Philosophy Bites is made in association with The Institute of Philosophy